PHILADELPHIA – If this is gut-check time, the 76ers just took a kick to the abdomen. And their coach wasn’t going to stand for it.

Doug Collins said the Sixers’ lack of effort Tuesday in a 98-84 loss to lowly Orlando was “mind-numbing.” Falling by 14 at home to the short-handed Magic (16-41) could end up being the death knell for the Sixers (22-33), who with 27 games to go are clinging to thin postseason aspirations.

Collins said he’s through examining what more he can do to turn the season around.

“If everybody looked inside themselves as much as I did (as a player), this world would be a CAT scan,” Collins said. “Believe me – there’s not two days that go by that I don’t go to Rod (Thorn, the team president), I don’t go to Tony (DiLeo, the Sixers’ general manager) and say, ‘What can I do? Can I do anything different? How can I be a better coach? How can I be a better leader? How can I help these guys?’

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“Sometimes, you’ve got to help yourself.”

The Sixers’ effort was absent, just like their top-paid player. Sort of. Andrew Bynum, a polarizing figure in street clothes at the end of the Sixers’ bench, wasn’t there. A Sixers spokesperson said Bynum was in the building, even though he wasn’t in plain sight. Bynum, who was expected to provide a rehab update before the game, wasn’t available. And because the team isn’t holding practice today, before flying to Chicago, Bynum won’t be speaking then, either.

Missing Bynum, Collins said, is one reason why the Sixers have played so poorly this season, including Tuesday against the Magic. Here are a few others:

Former Sixer Nikola Vucevic dominated the glass to the tune of 19 rebounds, while Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen combined for five boards in 39 minutes for the Sixers.

Moe Harkless, a 19-year-old rookie drafted by the Sixers, played 31 sound minutes without committing a turnover.

“I’m a day’s work for a day’s pay kind of guy. That’s all I’ve been ever taught,” Collins said. “The one thing I have to understand is for me staying up, working harder, losing sleep, that’s not going to do anything. There’s nothing wrong with our preparation.

“I looked out there to start the game and three guys weren’t even sweating to start the game. They’re going to ease themselves into the game. You’ve got to get sweaty. You’ve got to be ready to go.”

The Sixers coughed up a 29-20 lead early in the second quarter, only to fall behind by as many as 21. They nearly erased a 17-point deficit, cutting it to five late in the third quarter, until the Magic surged once more.

It was a low-efficiency night for the Sixers, who got their top performance from reserve Damien Wilkins (14 points and four assists in 29 minutes). That was it. Nothing more from a group that Collins expected would have – should have – taken care of the second-worst team in the league, one that had lost 17 of 18 heading into this one.

“It’s interesting. I’ve always said, ‘Beat the teams you’re supposed to beat and then let’s see where you are against the others,’” Collins said. “It seems like, for us, we’ve laid eggs in here against teams we were supposed to beat.”

Losing to the Magic puts a crimp in that plan. It dropped the Sixers 11 games under .500 while falling for the sixth straight game, establishing a season-worst skid.

“It can’t get any worse than this,” Collins said.

How can he be so sure? The Sixers have a schedule back-loaded with contenders. And one of the league’s worst teams away from home finishes the season with 12 of its final 16 on the road.

Then there’s that whole lack-of-effort conundrum.

“Pat Head Summitt, one of the all-time great coaches, spoke at my clinic when I was in Chicago. And she was incredible,” Collins said of the legendary Tennessee women’s coach. “I’ll never forget what she said. She said when she goes into young ladies’ homes to recruit them, she says, ‘There are three things you have to bring in my program: Energy, effort and execution. And I’m in charge of one of them, execution.’

“I want you to know in no way am I casting dispersions that this is someone else’s fault. We’re all in this together. But there can’t be a game where you go out and don’t put your heart and soul into the game. Can’t do it. No reason for that. None.”